Family
How school enrolment and transfer rules work
Catchment, choice and transfer are three different systems, and the deadlines are earlier than most families expect.
Most districts assign a school by address, with a published catchment map. That assignment is the default, and everything else operates as an exception to it with its own application.
Choice programmes, magnet schools and charter schools generally run separate applications with deadlines months before the school year, sometimes with a lottery. Missing the window usually means waiting a full year rather than appealing.
Transfers within a district, and between districts, are governed by district policy and in some states by statute. Grounds commonly include childcare arrangements, a parent's workplace, or a sibling already enrolled, and each has to be evidenced.
Families experiencing homelessness have specific federal protections, including the right to remain at the school of origin and to enrol without the documents normally required. Every district has a designated liaison for this.
What to do next. Find your district's choice and transfer deadlines now rather than in the enrolment month, because they usually fall far earlier.
studentaid.gov outranks this page. Rules, figures and dates change
between academic years. This is written to help you read the official sources, not to
stand in front of them. Start there.
Nothing here is a determination. We cannot tell you what you qualify
for, and no website can. The programme and the office that runs it decide that, after
you apply.
Still have a question?
Describe what you are trying to work out and a member of the team will answer, or direct you to the office that makes the decision.